Electrically powered ceiling fans typically have a motor mounted within a stationary housing that is suspended from a ceiling. In operation, the motor rotates an annular array of individual extensions in the form of blade irons. Each blade iron is associated with a blade mounted thereto.
Ceiling fans are usually sold at retail with their blades packed separately from the blade irons and the blades packed separately from the motor for compactness. The housing is normally mounted in suspension from the ceiling through a downrod and then the blades are mounted to the blade irons and the blade irons are mounted to the motor.
The blade irons of ceiling fans have typically been mounted to the motor by providing a mounting flange portion of the blade iron with mounting holes through which mounting screws are passed. These mounting screws are threaded into threaded mounting holes extending into the rotatably driven portion of the motor. This however has proven to be a tedious task for those installing the blade irons. Installers must align the holes of the mounting flange with those of the motor while simultaneously passing the screws through the flange mounting holes. This task is usually done while the blade iron is coupled to the blade, thus, the installer must also bear the weight of the blades during the mounting process.
Accordingly, it is seen that a need remains for a blade iron that can be quickly and easily mounted to an electric motor. It is to the provision of such therefore that the present invention is primarily directed.